Creating the next-generation decentralized social networking application ecosystem, SoCo SNP returns the control of social data to every individual.

Blockchain startup Social Coin (SoCo) SNP is ready to decentralize social media by returning the control of social assets from social media giants back to the users.

With Social Network Protocol (SNP), a protocol that allows for a revolutionary new method of utilizing online social data through blockchain technology, the company provides a new way to “tokenize” a social asset, to define its value and enable users to benefit from it.

“We see today as the beginning of a turning point for social media giants to gradually take more care for their users’ benefits,” said Roderick Chia, SoCo cofounder and prominent Technopreneur-in-Residence at NTU.

‘Social Asset’, a term coined by SoCo, refers to those digital assets used in a social context, including the posts, friend lists and interactions on social media platforms. These social assets are created by the end users, but are currently owned, controlled and monetized by social media giants.

In creating SNP, SoCo has built the foundation for a new-generation social application ecosystem wherein users take full control of their social assets and can grant applications access according to three separate types of social data:

First, the basic ID or profile, such as Name, Gender, Location, Resume etc.;

Third, a person’s social media behavior, therefore their published content.

SoCo’s token becomes the currency for all rewards generated by social interactions in the SNP, whether between users or between apps. By joining the SNP, decentralized applications, or DApps, get the necessary social networking functions including enabling users’ social asset storage, P2P messaging and smart contracts.

Most applications today invite users to share with friends for rewards, but these are in-app only. Moreover, this forces users to hand over their information in order to enjoy the app’s benefits. SoCo tokens, however, allow users to utilize their SoCo across all DApps in the SNP blockchain, and SNP makes the rewards process transparent so that users can trust DApps and be sure their data is secure. Furthermore, by rewarding with SoCo, DApps can incentivize users to use their social assets (i.e. inviting friends), empowering the applications to grow while users make profits.

Eventually, as more and more SNP-based applications use SoCo to attract users to their platforms, the social media landscape will be transformed as user traffic is redirected from social networking giants to smaller, newer apps. A healthier and interdependent relationship will be established between users and applications, where both are able to profit while the user’s digital property is protected.

Each D-App will need specific access to users’ social assets and can only profit if rewarding the content provider with SoCo. One example scenario is a corporate hire, in which a person opens up access to their ‘social graph’ for a price, something not possible in the current social media landscape, in which major career-centered applications would reap all the profit, and any traditional headhunter would charge part of a candidate’s salary.

SoCo’s core tech team is comprised of long-time experts in distributed systems and P2P networking Mingliang Jiangand John Li, alongside an integral partnership with U+, a social networking app with over 40 million users. Mingliang, who is a co-founder of U+, formerly served on the management committee for the National University of SingaporeResearch Institute.

SoCo’s decentralized nature foretells a vast market, as it can be used by anyone in the world using social media, a figure set to hit 2.77 billion in 2019 according to Statistica.

The company is in the process of fundraising. Investment interest has been strong and includes a number of high-profile pre-sale VC participants including SIG, Legend Capital Partners, Panda VC, PreAngel, Ontime Capital and Fenbushi. An initial public offering is also on the cards.

This past weekend, SoCo SNP held a three-day publicity event in Singapore where they met with the local crypto community and academia. They were joined by celebrity advisor Professor Changjian Jiang, International Relations scholar and host of famous Chinese TV show “Super Brain”. Professor Jiang gave lectures on the transformation of media and its consequent social trends at the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University from Aug. 1 to Aug. 3. The events attracted well over 1,000 attendees, with many of the audience forced to stand or sit on the floor. Nearly 20,000 people joined the live broadcasts.

SoCo SNP is also currently six days into their 21-day bounty campaign, which has garnered over 16 thousand participants. To join, begin here: soco.bounty.global